Serena Williams’ incomparable legacy is only growing in her U.S. Open farewell
New York TimesNEW YORK — In the fall of 1992, a television crew from the United Kingdom traveled to the Rick Macci Tennis Academy in Florida to interview a pair of young sisters for a program called Trans World Sport. “Well,” Serena began, a smile on her face and her hair in beads, “I’d like other people to be like me.” To pull up and watch the clip 30 years later — as Serena Williams conjured more farewell magic at the U.S. Open, taking out No. The segment on Trans World Sport included many of the hallmarks of the Williams sisters’ early story: Venus says she wants to be an archaeologist and study “dinosaur bones” and “Indian civilizations.” Serena suggests that if tennis doesn’t work out, she’ll be a veterinarian. Then, Richard Williams declares that his older daughter, Venus, always dreamed of winning Wimbledon, while Serena has always wanted to win the U.S. Open — a not-inconsequential fact that will become especially relevant seven years later on a Saturday in Queens. “I wouldn’t be here without Serena, Venus, her whole family,” Naomi Osaka, the two-time U.S. Open champion, said last week.